


two of the same

by queerly_yours



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Nightmares, Self-Medication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-19 15:01:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,020
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3614292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queerly_yours/pseuds/queerly_yours
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lydia has trouble sleeping, not that she’d admit it to anyone else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	two of the same

Lydia has trouble sleeping, not that she’d admit it to anyone else. She’d started self-medicating at first, over the counter sleepaids, then prescription sleep aids, Vicodin, whatever would work. I mean, Christ, after all the things that she’s seen who wouldn’t have trouble sleeping? She makes it through the night, most nights. Some are better than others, but she always sleeps better when a pack member is with her, Ally, Stiles, whoever.

_Doesn’t really matter who_ , she thinks.  _It’s just my subconscious knowing that there’s another person here in case something happens._

Tonight she doesn’t quite make it all the way through. She can’t remember exactly what the dream was about, but she wakes up feeling like somebody is choking off her air supply and the sheets are damp with sweat. Looking at her phone, she realizes that she has 3 more hours to go before she needs to be up for school.

She lays there another couple of minutes, trying to even her breathing and get her heart back under control. Realizing that there won’t be any more sleep tonight, she makes her way out of the bedroom to shower and start the day. 

- 

Beacon Hills High School is like any other high school. Jocks, nerds, prom queens (which she will be this year thank you very much), and who could miss the supernatural creatures wandering the halls? The answer to that is everyone. How? She’s not sure. She’s seen almost every member of her pack lose control at the school at one point or another. Maybe not enough for any normal person to notice, but it’s there. It’s a precarious balance sometimes, calm to anger and back in a heartbeat, like a switch was flipped. It still unnerves her.

She can’t and won’t think about the supernatural right now though. It’s hard enough dealing with her own powers, if you can call them that, she doesn’t have time to worry over the pack.  _They have everything in control_ , she tells herself. It’s herself that doesn’t have everything under control. She’d just like to be able to sleep through the night, the whole night, without nightmares.

With those thoughts still on her mind, she makes her way to her locker. Cora is leaning up against it, dressed similar to her brother in black jeans and a dark green Henley. Brows knitted, permanent Hale frown on her face, she startles when Lydia steps in front of her.

“Yes?” Lydia asks pointedly.

Cora looks up, seemingly bored and annoyed, and tells her, “I need help with Chemistry. Since you’re the brains, you can teach me.”

It’s not even remotely a question. Raising an eyebrow at her, “Really now?”

“Yeah.”

It’s all posture though. The steel in her eyes, the stiff posture, the bored expression. Lydia knows that Cora was with the Alphas for so long that she probable doesn’t know how to ask for help other than demand it. She’s going to let it go, but she’ll teach the werewolf some manners if it’s the last thing she does.

“Fine. My house 6 pm sharp.”

Cora simply grunts and moves to go to class, but Lydia blocks her.

“And don’t be late or I’ll drag your little werewolf ass shopping with me. I have ways. You know it.”

Cora rolls her eyes and pushes past her.

-

When Cora shows up at her house, she’s dressed exactly how she was at school, but Lydia’s not. Contrary to popular belief, 6 inch heels are not actually made to wear all the time. Her hair is swept up into a messy bun and she’s wearing fleece-lined tights, a long, muted green cardigan, and knitted grey socks. If she thinks she sees Cora give her a once over, she ignores it. She’s comfortable.

_Who care what she thinks anyways?_

They start studying at 6:15. Not because Cora is late, because she’s not, but because they were making coffee and grabbing food. The studying goes surprisingly well. Cora seems a bit guarded at first, but after some coaxing, she relaxes and lets Lydia teach her.

_She’s so gorgeous when she’s working out a problem._  Lydia muses. She gets lost in the work and loses the attitude, well, most of it anyway. She’s still a sarcastic little shit that shuts down when pushed too hard, but it’s a balance she’s learning well.

Brains overworked and exhausted from the long day, it’s a little after midnight when they both nod off. Cora on the floor, leaning on the bed and Lydia draped over the bed looking over Cora’s shoulder at her work.

Cora’s wolf must have sensed something because she wakes up seeing red, claws extended, she lays there until she can figure out what woke her up and she hears Lydia’s pounding heartbeat and small whimper.

_She’s having a nightmare._  Cora realizes.

Cora had them for months after she was free of the Alphas. Hell, she still has them on occasion. Derek usually comforts her when she’s had one, if she lets him.

So Cora stands up slowly and looks down at Lydia. 5 foot 3 inches of sass and smarts and compassion. She’s beautiful, stunning, a Greek goddess born in the wrong century. But that’s not all she is. She’s fiercely loyal and strong. She helped take on the Nogistune and the Oni without a second thought. God, she’s amazing.

She hasn’t ever had to comfort someone else having a nightmare, so she just does what Derek does for her. She sits on the edge of the bed by Lydia’s head and strokes her hair murmuring to her that it’s okay, she’s just having a dream.

Lydia’s heartbeat and breathing settle back into a regular pattern after a few minutes and Cora starts to withdraw, but the redhead grabs her hand and whispers, “Don’t go.”

So she doesn’t. Lydia moves over and let’s Cora lay down with her. They sleep all the night through, nightmare free. And if when Lydia wakes up, she feels a few butterflies in her stomach, she won’t tell anyone. But Cora, well, she already knows.

Because she has them too.

 


End file.
